Electrical conduit systems are required in order to safely provide electrical power to industry, homes, commercial buildings and the like. These conduit systems often include long runs of rigid electrical conduit with frequent changes in direction, such as 90° turns. Conduit bodies are typically installed in the conduit systems at various locations, both to provide access to the wires and to route the wires along the conduit path. Often, the change of direction in the conduit is accomplished in the conduit body.
Conventional conduit bodies are generally elongate having longitudinal side walls defining an open ended chamber. A removable cover may be provided for closing the open end of the body. The conduit body may include hubs at locations along the body for attachment of the conduit and passage of the wire therethrough. Traditionally, the arrangements include at least one hub passageway which is in axial alignment with the chamber body, and at least one hub passageway which is at approximately a 90° angle to the axis of the chamber. Existing conduit bodies are very parametric in geometry, and require very specific arrangements to fit various applications. Existing conduits are quite difficult for the user to feed cables and wires through. In particular, having a hub located at the end of the chamber body is fairly difficult or inconvenient for the user to feed wire through. Conduit bodies may come in various shapes and styles, depending upon the angle and attachment required, such as an LL configuration, LR configuration, LB configuration, and others. Traditionally, a separate conduit device would be required for each specific configuration desired.
In addition to requiring a different device for each particular configuration, traditional conduits require a sharp 90° turn in the wires being routed therethrough. In order to effect such a turn in a conduit body, the wire contained therein must be bent or curved. In certain situations, especially with the use of communications cables such as data cable and fiber optic cable, placing a small bend radius on the cable to effect the change in direction may adversely affect the performance of the cable. In addition, existing conduit devices are limited in space, not being suited for a large volume of wires to pass through.
The art has seen various devices used in combination with conduit bodies to help support the wire as it is passed through the conduit body especially where changes in direction are required. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,801,118 and 6,838,615 employ inserts placed in the conduit body to help facilitate movement of the wire therethrough.
Another example which specifically attempts to provide a minimum bend radius in a conduit body is U.S. Pat. No. 5,580,029. In the '029 patent, the conduit body is modified to provide an inwardly projecting curved bump in the bottom wall thereof. This bump forces the wire pulled therethrough to achieve a desirable bend radius upon making a change of direction therein. While this device may serve adequately to effect a desirable change in direction, the inwardly extending projection does provide an obstruction to the pulling of the wire through the conduit body and also reduces the usable interior capacity of the conduit body. Further, the '029 patent uses axial and perpendicular hubs, which create difficulty to access and feed wires when the conduits are attached in certain arrangements.
Another example of an attempt to provide a minimum bend radius in a conduit body may be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 7,057,104. In the '104 patent, the conduit body is modified to have a large radius on one of the walls. While this device may allow for a more desirable bend radius upon making a change in direction, the locations of the hubs are still located in an undesirable position, i.e., at least one hub is always located in an axial alignment with the longitudinal axis of the chamber of the conduit. As described above, having an axially-aligned hub passageway severely limits the access to the hub passageways and restricts the user's ability to feed and pull wiring in certain situations.
It is, therefore, desirable to provide a conduit body which effects a change in direction of wires pulled therethrough so as to maintain a desirable bend radius and which overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art, and which allows for more convenient access for feeding and pulling of the wires therein.